Press Release
On November 3rd, the St. Louis Jr. Blues face off against Quad City Jr.
Flames in a NA3HL divisional match up at 2:00 pm at the Affton Ice
Rink. Although a very important hockey game will take place, the Jr.
Blues will be playing for a great cause, their #1 fan Brendan Staub and
the “Brendan’s Buddies” Day at the Jr. Blues Game.
Brendan is a former Affton hockey player and the son of the Jr. Blues
goalie coach Mark Staub. When he was just 8 ½ years old, Brendan was
suffered from major seizures that doctors explained where caused by
bilateral calcifications on his brain. The doctors said the
calcifications had stopped growing and with medications Brendan remained
seizure free from May 2004 through August 2004. When his seizures
returned in October 2004 an MRI was conducted to make sure the
calcifications were not growing, they weren't. Instead it showed
Brendan had a rapid growing tumor in his right temporal lobe of his
brain. The tumor was removed immediately and the surgery was a
success! They were told that Brendan's seizures would get better.
Instead, the seizures were getting worse, Brendan would suffer up to 50
seizures a day. Brendan had been diagnosed with multiple diseases, all
were wrong.
In July of 2006 Schriner’s Hospital claimed that Brendan’s
calcifications were still growing. In November of that year, Brendan
suffered a stroke like episode that put him in a 3 day seizure. Since
then, Brendan suffered four more stoke like episodes that has affected
his vision. These stroke like episodes have occurred in his occipital
lobe of his brain that controls his vision. In January of 2007 Brendan
had his first appointment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. He
arrived in Minnesota with very poor vision, 20/500. The doctors had
only given Brendan two years to live. Brendan's brain had been taken
over from an undiagnosed white matter disease.
The doctors knew that they had to do something fast and they had to be
aggressive. They went with an experimental drug (IVIg immunuogloblun)
for Brendan. It worked! With these treatments the disease has remained
contained, he has been seizure free for two years, and his vision is
getting better, but his vision still comes and goes. Brendan has been
taking several trips a year to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN looking
for answers to his medical problems. To this date, Brendan’s illness
has not been diagnosed. Brendan still receives these very costly IVIg
treatments every two weeks to keep him alive.
To help their #1 Fan and the Staub family, the Jr. Blues will raise
money for Brendan’s foundation, “Brendan’s Buddies.” The Jr. Blues will
donate $10 for every goal scored to Brendan’s Buddies and encourage the
fans in attendance to make a donation of $1 to $10 for every goal
scored by the Jr. Blues. Additionally, the Jr. Blues will wear a
special jersey for the game. At the conclusion of the game, anyone can
purchase the game worn jersey for $30 will all of the jersey proceeds
being donated to Brendan's Buddies.
(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
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